WJSOLOMON

I'm having trouble running down an acceptable (by Lexus) set of 18" x 8.0" Wheels, and 245/40 18" Severe Winter Tires, for my new SC 430.

I had my heart set on a set of "Bridgestone's Blizzac WS-50", "Dunlop's Winter Sport M2", or "Pirelli's Winter 210 Ice", for Severe Snow, Slush, Ice / "Black Ice" cross-country Winter driving conditions, because of their excellent Owners' Testimonials (Tire Rack, Inc.) for Superior Ride Comfort, Low Noise, and Traction at reasonable Highway Speeds, given the conditions at the time.

These three Brand Models seemed to also provide a resonable balence of Ride and Traction characteristics on Wet, Snowy, Icy, or Dry Road surfaces.

Yet I am unable to locate any of these excellant choices for the SC 430 in the 245 / 40 18" OEM Tire size, in the Tire Rack's Web Site! Any experience among now over any of the 10,000 ++ Owners of these New Cars?

Also if interest to me, is the choice of using an all-Steel 18" x 8.0" Wheel, or the same size in a Steel-Alloy Wheel, given two High Priority Objectives:

(1) More Comfortable Ride;

(2) Longer Service Life in the Heavy De-Icing Salt
Winter Environment.

I'm told that the Alloy Wheel will provide a more comfortable ride than the All-Steel Wheel ("Softer" Material?), but the Expected Service Life and Exterior Appearance of the Alloy Wheel will be much shorter and noticably less attractive sooner, with the Alloy Wheel, vs the All-Steel Wheel Option.

Any solid advice on how I may be able to proceed to solve these issues, based on this past Winter's experience of all of the other close to 10,000 Owners, would really be appreciated!

WJS